


strawberry and peppermint

by mintkey



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: M/M, jongho is a mall christmas elf, just a fun christmassy thing, mingi does questionable actions with good intentions, with cameos from lu from nature and onew from shinee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mintkey/pseuds/mintkey
Summary: In his years as a Christmas elf Jongho had seen his fair share of funny wishes, but none quite as bad as this one.or: mingi tries to do a good deed by wishing hongjoong a boyfriend
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kim Hongjoong
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	strawberry and peppermint

There were worse things than being a Christmas elf.

Jongho repeated it to himself like a mantra every couple of hours, and some days it was the only thing keeping him from quitting the job.

The costume was stuffy and ridiculous and the hat was too big for his head, but the pay was alright and he got 2 breaks a day and all he really had to do was take children to and from fake Santa's chair. It could be worse.

Smiling up at a middle aged woman with weird crooked teeth and a daughter that looked a good deal older than their 12 years-old age limit but claimed she was 10, he repeated it to himself once more.

“Thank you for your feedback, ma'am, we'll take it into consideration for next year,” he said, using his best high pitched customer voice.

“Good.”

She turned her back to him with a huff and walked away, her daughter following short after.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, he sighed, fixing the hat that was falling over his eyes for the thousandth time that day. _Two more days. Two more days and this ends._

“What was that about?” asked his coworker, a tall guy with an easy smile and the kind of bright personality that made him perfect for this kind of job.

“Mrs Unhappy Marriage over there had a complaint about the lack of elf ears on the elves.” He checked the empty line and reached into his pocket, popping a peppermint candy into his mouth. “She thinks it ruins the experience.”

“So you're telling me the dumb shoes and pointy hat are for nothing? We could've just had some fake ears on?” He extends a hand and Jongho retrieves another sweet for him, this time a tiny chocolate bar.

“I'd be okay with elf ears if they got rid of these god awful spanx.”

Yunho elbowed him in the shoulder, speaking with his mouth full. “Shut up. You're the only one here with the thighs for those spanx.”

Jongho opened his mouth to protest but before he could he caught the panicked look the woman at the ticket table sent their way. In front of her was a grown man, both hands on the table and leaning way closer to her than he should've been.

“Fucking hell,” he murmured to himself.

After giving Yunho a light tap on the arm to let him know he'd handle it, he made his way to the table, stopping right by her side.

“Sir, I'm gonna need you to back away.” The customer voice was gone, replaced by a firm and low tone.

The man looked up at him, a little confused, cheeks a deep pink. Drunk.

“He wants a ticket for himself. I tried to tell him there's an age limit but he's being very insistent,” says Hayoung, eyes darting between him and the drunk man.

He nodded attentively. “Go get changed, noona, I'll deal with him.”

“Thanks, Jongho.”

He waited until she left to look back to the man, who was now standing, hands folded behind his back, swaying dangerously back and forth. He was taller than Jongho expected, not as much as Yunho, but not so far from that. Maybe he should've asked his hyung for backup.

“As I'm sure my friend already told you, we have an age limit of 12. Are you under 12, by any chance?”

“'m not. But you have to make an exception! It's really important,” he pleaded, eyes going wide and words slurring together.

“I understand, but it's a rule and I don't have the authority to make exceptions. No one here does.”

“Please, man, I really need to do this. It's for a good cause! I promise. Pinky promise.”

He swayed forward, shoving his pinky finger on Jongho's face. Jongho took a deep breath. _It's almost over. Just deal with this and you can go home._

“Let's make a deal, then. You tell me what you wanna wish for and I'll pass it onto Santa,” he suggests, holding the man's wrist to keep his hand a safe distance away from him.

His entire face softened. “You'd do that for me?”

“Yeah, just hurry up. We're closing soon.”

“Thank you!” He used Jongho's grip on his hand to pull him closer, wrapping his free arm around him and pressing their cheeks together. The amount of alcohol in his breath almost made Jongho dizzy. “You're the best. My new favorite person.”

“Okay. Can you let me go now?”

He complied, and Jongho took a moment to straighten his clothes and clear his throat before turning to him again.

“So your wish?”

“I want a boyfriend for my friend.”

Jongho lifted an eyebrow at him. “Your friend?”

“Yeah, he—”

Someone shouted a couple stores down, and the man turned to that direction like a deer caught in headlights.

“ _Fuck._ ” He looked back at Jongho, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking into his eyes. “Kim Hongjoong. Hyung's name is Kim Hongjoong. Make sure to tell Santa that, he really needs it.”

“Song Mingi you better not be doing what I think you're doing or else I'm gonna skin you alive.”

The threat came from a smaller guy who practically barreled into the stranger, swatting his hands away from Jongho. He had white hair cut short, and a backpack hanging from one shoulder, and a very apologetic smile.

“I'm not doing anything! Tell him I'm not doing anything,” pleaded Mingi.

“Are you Kim Hongjoong?” Jongho asked instead, making him gasp with betrayal.

Judging for the deadly glare the smaller one sent in Mingi's direction, he was right.

“I'm sorry for whatever he did or said to you. I asked him to wait outside for 5 minutes while I got my stuff and he—”

“I'm just trying to help you!”

“You're on thin fucking ice, if I was you I'd keep my mouth shut.”

“It's fine.” Jongho assured him, even though he'd much rather be spending the few minutes left of his shift sharing candy with Yunho than trying to do damage control for a stranger. “You work here?”

“Yeah, on the Burger King upstairs. Come by sometime, I'll get you a free milkshake or something to make up for this.”

“Why does _he_ get free milkshakes?”

“Because you're a pain in the ass, that's why.”

Jongho cleared his throat. “I need to get going. Closing up and all that.”

“Sure, yeah.” He threw one of Mingi's arms over his shoulder, tugging him in the general direction of the exit. “Sorry again. See you around, uh...”

“Jongho.”

“Cool. See you around, Jongho.”

As they walked away, Mingi turned to him and mouthed _don't forget the wish_. Jongho chuckled.

He grabbed the register and the pile of tickets under the desk, took off the goddamn hat and went back into the little cabin where they locked everything for the night.

“What did the guy want?” Hayoung asked him, the bright red dress replaced with a loose shirt and jeans.

“He wanted to ask Santa for a boyfriend.” He put everything in its place and grabbed his satchel hanging in a corner. “For his friend.”

“The blonde one?” She asked, at the same time that Yunho mumbled “That's not a bad idea, actually.”

Jinki, this year's Santa Claus, laughed and ruffled his hair. “That's a little out of my reach, kid.”

The next day, he took his second break around dinner time, changed out of his elf costume and went upstairs to claim his promised free milkshake—partly because he wasn't one to pass up on free food, but mostly because Kim Hongjoong seemed like a nice person and when he smiled and waved at Jongho as he passed by in the morning his eyes crinkled a little bit, and Jongho realized he wouldn't mind seeing that again.

So he stood in line, tried to smooth the creases in his shirt from being shoved into a satchel bag for most of the day, and waited for his time to get to the counter.

“Next,” Hongjoong called, somehow still looking pretty with his white hair tucked under a hairnet.

Or maybe it was just the way he smiled again when he realized who it was.

“I believe you promised me a milkshake,” he said, putting on a soft smile to match Hongjoong's.

“Coming right up,” he typed in the order. “What flavor?”

“I think I'm feeling like strawberry today.”

“Good choice, that's my favorite. Anything else?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking it over for a second. “Did you take your break yet?”

Hongjoong looked surprised by the question. “No, I didn't.”

“Do you think you can take it in the next half a hour or so?”

He watched as the blonde took a peek at the line and then back into the store, his stomach bubbling with anxiety.

“Make it fifteen minutes.”

Jongho had to bite back a smile. “Add another milkshake, then. But this one's on me.”

He clicked his tongue. “How about I make it a large fry and we share both?”

“Sonds great to me.”

He finished the order and insisted he'd pay for everything; Jongho could just handle the bill next time. Normally, he would argue, but the idea of a next time made him too giddy to really care.

“You mind if I ask you a weird question?,” was the first thing Hongjoong said when he sat down, taking out a straw from the package and the lid from the milkshake before taking a sip.

“Do I get to ask one back?” Jongho asked, reaching for a handful of fries.

“Sounds fair.” He shrugged. “What hair dye do you use? I tried to go red once but it never stayed as bright as yours for long.”

“What do you mean? It's just naturally this color.” Hongjoong laughed with the straw between his teeth and Jongho could swear the air around them felt lighter. “I just put some of it on my conditioner so I technically keep reapplying it all the time.”

“That's smart. I'm gonna try it next time.” He pulled out the other straw and put it into the ice-cream, handing it to Jongho. “Your turn.”

He took a long sip, savoring the overly sweet strawberry flavor before speaking. “I'll save it for later.”

Hongjoong squinted at him for a moment, but ultimately decided to let it go.

They finished the fries and the milkshake over small talk, Hongjoong asking what he did when he wasn't playing Christmas elf—he was in university and worked at the campus' library, currently closed for the holidays—and in return he asked about the tattoo on his forearm—Hongjoong had designed it himself, just like the one under his collarbone that he pulled his shirt's collar down to show.

Much too soon for his taste, Hongjoong leaned back into his chair with a sigh after checking the time on his phone. “I have to go back soon.”

“Me too,” said Jongho, but neither of them moved a single muscle to leave.

“You never got to ask your question,” he points out, clinging to any reason to stay.

“Oh, right.” He leans forward, resting his face on his intertwined hands, a sheepish smile on his face. “How's your friend's wish going?”

Hongjoong snorted at him, flicking a toothpick he got from the table in his direction. “That's a terrible pick up line.”

“I'm just curious.” Jongho blocked it with a flick of his wrist.

He arched his eyebrows, unamused, but ended up giving in when Jongho pouted at him. “I was quite skeptical at first, but it looks like the old man decided to work in my favor this year.”

“He said it was beyond his Christmas powers, actually.”

“Are you implying there's a limit to Santa Claus' powers?”

“His words not mine.”

He hummed, and they fell into silence again, Hongjoong slowly drumming his fingers against his lower lip.

“What are you doing tomorrow night, Jongho?”

Jongho tilted his head, laying a hand on the table and moving the weight of his head to the other one. “Taking you out for dinner, if you're up for it.”

“On Christmas Eve? That's bold.”

“I do have a debt to pay.”

“Can't argue with that.”

Hongjoong's phone vibrated on the table, the screen lighting up with a message saying his 30 minutes timer had reached its end. He got up, throwing the cup and the shredded fries container into the tray. “It's a date, then.”

“Looks like it.”

He nodded towards his phone. “Save your number while I throw this out. I'll text you.”

Jongho did as he was told, getting up as soon as he hit save, putting his phone in his pocket and handing Hongjoong his back when he returned.

“See you tomorrow?” he said, hand lingering over his phone, an inch away from touching Hongjoong's.

“Please don't mind if I'm a bit late. Poor time management.” He retreated his hand from his, only to tap a finger under Jongho's jaw.

Jongho nodded, a tingling feeling spreading from where Hongjoong had touched him right into his chest. He waved at him, watched him put the hairnet back into place as he moved back into the other side of the counter.

As he rushed into his elf costume again, his phone dinged in his pocket.

_Forgot to tell you but you look cuter with the elf hat on._

Smiling to himself, he saved the number and sent him a reply.

_That hat is my mortal enemy._

Putting said hat back on, he stepped outside the cabin, being faced with a growing line of impatient children and snobby parents and—was that the same woman from yesterday?

He let out a deep breath. His phone dinged again.

_If it comes to a point where I have to choose between you and the hat, I'm picking the hat._

It could be so, so much worse.

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas everyone!! hope you enjoyed this jongjoong brainrot <3


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